Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWarden
Morocco and Portugal have agreed to a new ferry route. Just need a ferry company on board by all accounts.
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Getting a ferry company onboard will probably be the big problem... I doubt that there will be a lineup of companies seeking to operate this route.
The problem - as potential ferry operators will see it - is this: The route does not make any sense. It's way longer than Gibraltar or Algeceras to Morocco, offers zero logistical benefits to passengers or truckers, and there is probably no port infrastructure in Portugal that is already present to handle passenger and ro-ro ferries.
Setting this route up would require considerable capital investment on the part of the ferry operator to set up a port in Portugal (neither the Moroccans or the Portuguese have any reason to subsidize such a venture), and the route could be made redundant and useless overnight in the event of an improvement in relations between Morocco & Spain. After all, there is no practical reason to not continue operating the long-standing Algeceras to Morocco route - it's only constrained at the moment because of a diplomatic hissy fit. That could disappear overnight (let's hope it does).
My guess is that a Portugal to Morocco ferry route will never see the light of day.
Michael
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